Method of and apparatus for straightening pipes, tubes and similar articles



June 16, 1931.

w F. CLARK 1,810,819

METHOD OF AND AP PARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING PIPES, TUBES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Nov. 28, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l w. F. CLARK 1,810,819

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 16, 1931.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING PIPES, TUBES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Nov. 28, 1928 2?? gi Egg? 9 3 1 8, a 0 e 1 o0 J s 1 t e m G S N CLARK TUS FOR 5 IGHTENI D SIMILAR R ICLES CV. 28. 1928 4 June 16, 1931. w.

OF AND APPARA ES, TUBES, AN

METHOD PIP Filed 3mm.- W,

June 16, 1931. I w. F. CLARK METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR 'STRAIGHTENING PIPES, TUBES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Nov. 28, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented June 15, 1931 .UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE WILLIAM F. CLARK, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND IMETHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR STRAIGI-ITENING PIPES, TUBES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Application filed November 28, 1928. Serial No. 322,434.

- between their issuance from the forming machine and their release from the discharge mechanism thereof onto the customary cooling rack. Suchbends or sags must be removed from the pipes before they are marketable, and the straightening operation by,

which this is done is ordinarily performed after the pipes have cooled sufficiently to be safely handled.

This straightening operation entails an additional handling of the pipes and a consequent consumption of time and labor.

The object of my invention is to accomplish the straightening of the pipes or other articles automatically and during the customary cycle of manufacturing operations prior to their discharge from the cooling rack, thereby obviating the necessity for handling them after they have cooled and releasing the men ordinarily employed at the straightening machines for other work.

The invention consists in a method of straightening pipes, tubes and the like com prising the rolling of such articles between a fixed member and a movable member, preferably under pressure, and in the apparatus for carrying out this'method.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated,

Fig. 1 is a side elevationof my straightening apparatus shown in connection with the discharge mechanism of a pipe forming machine and a fragment of one end of a cooling rack of approved form.

' Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the articulated travelling band or article-carrying member. I I

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the pressure-applying member.

Fig.4 is a fragmentary end view of the ma chine looking at theright-hand end of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail of one of the bed-forming members and a fragment of the articulated travelling band.

Fig. 6 is, an enlarged sectional detail of a modified form of surface-forming members for the pressure-applying device.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the connecting bearing between the frame of the pressure-applying member and the supporting-lever members of the parallel adjusting linkage. v

In Fig. 1 I have shown the discharge mechanism of a pipe forming machine which comprises a sloping table 1 adjustably mounted by means of jack-screws 2 upon suitable standards 3. Pivotally mounted as at 4 upon the table 1 is a housing and guide member 5 within which the pipes, as they come from the forming machine, are introduced and by which they are guided. Hinged as at 6 adjacent to the lower edge of the table 1 is a bridge-piece or skid 7 the free end 8 of which rides upon the articulated travelling band or article-carrying member of the straightening apparatus, hereinafter described in detail.

In ordinary practice, the table 1 is arranged adjacent the receiving end-9 of a cooling rack of ordinary or approved form, usually consisting of a plurality of laterally spaced skids orways 10 and travelling con veyor chains 11 provided with dogs or spurs 12 which engage the pipes throughout their length as they are discharged from the table 1 upon the rack and convey them with a rolling motion over the rack.

Inasmuch as the table 1 and its discharge mechanism and the cooling rack are of known form and are not parts of the present invention except insofar as they contribute to its mode of operation, they are not shown and described in detail. 7

In the practice of my invention, instead of discharging the pipes from the table 1 directly upon the cooling rack, I move the cooling rack away from the table a sufficient distance to accommodate my straightening apparatus.

This apparatus comprises a frame-work composed, preferably, of standards 13 and 14 arranged in pairs at the sides ofthe machine at its ends,'and carrying transverse beams or girders 15 and 16 respectively, which support transversely spaced stringers 17 carrying the bed forming elements 18 for the article-carrying member or travelling band.

The elements 18 (see Fig. are preferably of channel formation and are provided with wear strips 19, and these parts are rigidly se cured to their respective stringers 17.

The articulated travelling band or article carrying member A (see Figs. 1, 2 and 5) comprises a plurality of endless link belts or chains 20 provided with rollers 20 which bear upon the strips 19 of the bed forming elements 18, and between these chains and carried thereby are transversely disposed bearingsurfaceforming members 21 of such conformation as to interlap at their adjacent edges. The members 21 are provided with I opening 22 through which dirt and scale may escape, and the band is thereby made lighter and capable of readilydissipating heat.

As will be seen, particularly byreference to Fig. 2, the lateral edges of the band (only one of which is shown) are formed of the members 21 closely associated to provide in effect a continuous surface, whereas the intermediate portions have the members arranged in pairs at longitudinally spaced inmachine.

.. tervals.

The members 18 with their strips 19 are provided at the discharge end of the machine with arc-uate or substantially circular return bends 23 in which the chains 20 are guided to drive sprockets 24 (Fig. 1) arranged upon a drive shaft 25 extending transversely of the These drive sprockets operate upon the return flight or slack 26 of the band. same being led over idle sprockets 27 on a transverse shaft .28 back to the forward ends 29 of the members 18. Unidirectionally rotating driving means (not shown) are provided for rotatlng the sprockets 24 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1.

Theshafts 25' and 28 are mounted in suitable bearings carried by the standards 13' and 14,

' as shown.

The top or working flight 30 of the band,

being suported by' the rollers 20 upon the members 18, presents its bed-forming members 21 with their upperjsiu'rfaces in a reticulated or grid-like planar arrangement so that the pipes or other articles fed thereto when pressed against the band and rolled over it will, of necessity, be straightened.

In order that the requisite pressure may be applied to the pipes or other articles as they are moved forward by the travelling band, provide the pressure-applying member B (see Figs. 1 and 3) which comprises a plurality of grid-like surface-forming members 31 having ribs 32 between which are spaces 33 through which the heat transmitted to the members 31 may be dissipated. The adj acent edges of the members 31 are provided with interlapping lugs 34, and at the two edges of the pressure-applying member, only one of which is shown in Fig. 3, the surface-forming members are arranged in close relationship so as to form a continuous surface, whereas throughout the central portion they are spaced at intervals longitudinally of the member.

ment relatively theretoby means of nuts 39 applied to their threaded ends. Between the lower flanges of the stringers 37 and the upper faces of the members 31 I interpose stifi helical springs 40, or othersuitable resilient members, positioned by the rods 38 and serving to resiliently hold the members 31 in their desired planar arrangement and affording a means of applying a heavy yielding pressure upon the pipes or other articles operated upon.

The'framework which supports the pressure-applying member B is carried by a parallel linkage mechanism comprising similar levers 41 and 42 fixed on shafts 43 and 44 journalled in the standards 13 and 14 respectively, at opposite sides of the machine.

hese levers 41 and 42 are connected with the beams 35 and 36 by means of pivot knuckles 45 which engage wit-h recessed blocks 46 suitably secured to the ends of the beams as by bolts and nuts indicated at 47in Fig. 7. Also mounted on the shafts 43 and 44 at opposite sides of the machine are levers 48 and 49 '(Figs. 1 and 4) arranged in parallelism and connected by bars 50 provided with turnbuckles 51 whereby the parallel adjustment of the levers may be assurech The bars 50 extend through housings 52 in the standards 13 and are threaded at their ends 53 and provided with adjusting nuts 54 bearing against. the housings 52. By this link and clever travelling band A, always in parallelism therewitluto adjust the machine to articles of various diameters.

As shown, the member B is provided with an upturned leading edge 6, whereby introduction of the pipes or other articles between the members A and B is facilitated.

If desired, spray heads 55 may be provided (Fig. 1) for spraying water or other cooling fluid upon the article carrying men1- her or band A, preferably on its return flight 26.

As shown, particularly in Fig. 1, the apparatus is so arranged that the members A and B are upwardly inclined from the point at which the pipes are fed to them and this increases the desired tendency of-the pipes to a rolling movement between these members.

Moreover, this inclination of the members A and B, and particularly of member B, makes this latter member suitable for watercooling, as shown in Fig. 6. In this watercooling arrangement, trough-like surfaceforming members 56, having imperforate bottoms, are substituted for the grid-like members 31, and these members 56 have water or other cooling liquid fed to them, such liquid being fed to the highest one at the discharge end of the apparatus and flowing thence over the whole series through spillpipes 57 until it reaches the lowest, from which it may flow to waste. Inasmuch as the discharge end of the apparatus is the cooler end, the water will gradually heat up as it nears the end at which the hot pipes are introduced, thus providing a perfect progressive cooling process upon the members 56 and the pipes in contact therewith.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

In the normal operation of a pipe forming machine, the formed pipes, at a high heat, as they successively leavethe forming rolls are projected out upon the table 1 beneath the housing 5. forming rolls and rests bodily upon the table, it is held from rolling off of the table by the housing. When the housing is swung upwardly upon its pivot 41:, the pipe will be released and will roll down the incline of the table over the bridge-piece or skid 7 and onto the articulated travelling band or articlecarrying member A, and will advance therewith beneath the pressure-applying member B, its introduction between the members A and B being facilitated by the upturned leading edge I) of member B, as hereinbefore indicated. The travel of member A combined Bl) with the'frictional contact of member B with the pipes will cause the pipes to roll and, being hot, this rolling action will eliminate any bends or sags which form in them in the interval between their release by the forming rolls and their introduction intothe straighim robable.

When a pipe is free of the members 21 and 31 so that when the pipes are discharged from the machine and fall upon the'cooling rack they will have become so cool as t-o be rigid, and any bending or inp jury of them on the cooling rack made highly s previously explained, the surface-forming members 31 of the pressure-applying member B are in yielding contact with the pipes under the influence of the springs l0,

and this not only provides a heavy resilient pressure upon the pipes but enables the members 31 to give somewhat when necessitated by pronounced bends and permit the pipes to roll over in spite of such bends rather than causing them to slide, as might be the case were the member B rigid.

Ordinarily, the bends and sags which form in the hot pipes occur at their ends where they protrude past the ends of the housing 5, and it is for this reason that the edge portio-ns of the members A and B are formed with their members 21 and 31, respectively, arranged in substantially unbroken continuity, a spaced arrangement of these members 21 and 31 throughout the central portion of P the members A and B being sufficient to take care of the greater portion of the length of the pipes which is usually substantially straight.

r In the foregoing description I have referred to my apparatus as particularly adapted for straightening pipes, but it will be understood that it may be used for straightening other cylindrical and tubular articles.

Also, various changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of straightening cylindrical articles which comprises rolling such articles under substantially continuous pressure between a fixed member and a uni-directionally movable member.

2. The method of straightening cylindri cal articles which comprises rolling such articles between a fixed member and a uni-directionally movable member having planar art1cle-contacting surfaces.

3. The method of straightening cylindrical articles which comprises rollingsuch articles while in a heated condition between a fixed member and a uni-directionallymovable member having planar surfaces and under pressure.

4. The methodof straightening cylindrical articles which comprises rolling such articles between a uni-directionally travelling article-carrying member and afixedpressureapplying member, to translate said articles i progressively along said article-carrying member. 4

5. The method of treating hot-formed metallic pipe, which comprises straightening and cooling the pipe by rolling same between planar surfaced members under substantially continuous pressure, va'ryingin degree, in accordance with the amount of bend in said pipe. s s i 6. Apparatus for straightening and cooling hot-formed metallic pipe, which comprises a travelling carrier member, a substantially stationary pressure-applying member, said members having planar pipe-contacting surfaces and serving to dissipate the heat from said pipe, and means for moving said carrier member continuously in one direction. V

7. Apparatus for straightening cylindrical articles, comprising two substantially planar members arranged in spaced relation, and means for imparting uni-directional movement to one of said members relatively to the other, whereby an interposed article will be subjected to rolling action. v

8. Apparatus for straightening cylindrical articles, comprising a substantially planar article-carrying member, a substantially planar pressure applying member, and means for imparting uni-directional motion to one of said members relatively to the other,

wherebywhen an article is introduced between said members it willbe subjected to a rolling action under pressure. 7

9. Apparatus for straightening cylindrical articles,comprising an article-carrying member, a pressure applying member spaced therefrom, and means for imparting uni-directional linear motion to one of said members relatively to the other, whereby when an article is introduced between said memhere it will be subjected to a rolling action under pressure and a continuous linear movement through the space between said members.

10. Apparatus for straightening cylindrical articles, comprising an article-carrying member, a pressure applying member, said members provided'with planar article-contacting surfaces, and means for imparting uni-directional linear motion to one of said members relatively to the other, whereby when an article is introduced between said members it will be subjected to a rolling action under substantially continuous pressure.

11. Apparatus for straightening cylindrical articles, comprising abed, an article-carrying member carried by said bed, a pressureapplying member arranged in spaced relation to saidarticle-carrying member, and means for imparting uni-directional travelling movement to said article-carrying member relatively to said bed and to said pressureapplying member, to effect combined linear and rolling movement of an article 'on said article-carrying member through the space between said pressure-applying member and said article-carrying member.

1-2. Apparatus for straightening cylindrical articles, comprising a framework carryatively to said article-carrying member, and

means for imparting uni-directional linear movement to said article-carrying member relatively to said pressure-applying member,

whereby when an article is introduced between said members it will be subjected to a rolling action under pressure.

13. Apparatusfor straightening cylindrical articles, comprising a framework carrying a bed, an article-carrying member supported bysaid bed, a pressure-applying member,meansiincluding a parallel linkage car-' ried by said framework and adjustably supporting said pressure-applying member relatively to said article-carrying member, and

means for imparting linear movement to said article-carrying member relatively to said pressure-applying member, whereby when an article is introduced between said members it 'will be subjected to a rolling action under pressure. 1 I

14. Apparatus for straightening cylindrical articles, comprising an articulated travelling band having a working flight and a return flight, a bed forming a supportfor the working flight of said band and provided with a return bend at one of its ends, and a driving member arranged adjacent to said return bend and operatively engaging the return flight of said band to impart tlilVGl ling movement thereto.

15. Apparatus for straightening hot formed cylindricalarticles, comprising a continuous travelling article-carrying member having a working flight and a return. flight, a pressure-applying member arranged in cooperative relation to said article-carrying member, said members serving to translate said articles progressively along said articlecarrying member and to roll the hot articles between them, and means for projecting a cooling fluid upon the return flight ofthe article-carrying member.

16. Apparatus for straightening cylindrical articles, comprising a travelling conveyorcomposed of a plurality of travelling chains and a plurality of surface-forming members carried by said chains prov-idingasubstanti-ally planar article-carrying surface, a bed comprising members on which said chains travel and by which they are supported, means for imparting linear movement to said chains over said bed to cause the band-to travel, a pressure-applying member arranged in superposition to said band and sub-q stantially fixed longitudinally thereof, said pressure-applying member including a support and a plurality of surface-forming members resiliently mounted on said sup port, and means for adjusting the proximity of said pressure-applying member to said band.

17. Apparatus for straightening cylindrical articles, comprising a travelling conveyor composed of a plurality of travelling chains and a plurality of surfaceforming members carried by said chains providing a substantially planar article-carrying surface, a bed comprising members on which said chains travel and by which they are supported, means for imparting linear movement to said chains over said bed to cause the band to travel, a pressure-applying member arranged in superposition to said band, and substantially fixed longitudinally thereof, said pressure-applying member including a support and a plurality of surface-forming members resiliently mounted on said support, and means for adjusting the proximity of said pressure-applying member to said band, the surface-forming members of the band and of the pressure-applying member being provided with heat-dissipating means.

18. In apparatus for the manufacture of hot-formed metallic pipes, the combination with the discharge mechanism of the pipeforming machine and a cooling rack for said pipes, of apparatus for straightening said pipes comprising a travelling carriermember and a relatively fixed pressure-applying member arranged intermediate said discharge mechanism and said cooling rack, said carrier-member adapted to receive the pipes discharged from said discharge mechanism and convey them beneath said pressureapplying mechanism, whereby the pipes are subjected to rolling under pressure to straighten them.

19. In apparatus for the manufacture of hot-formed metallic pipes, the combination with the discharge mechanism of the pipeformi-ng machine and a cooling rack for said pipes, of apparatus for straightening said pipes comprising a travelling carriermember and a relatively fixed pressure-applying member arranged intermediate said discharge mechanism and said cooling rack, said members provided with planar pipe-contacting surfaces, and said carrier-member adapted to receive the pipes discharged from said discharge mechanism and convey them beneath said pressure-applying mechanism, whereby the pipes are subjected to rolling under pressure to straighten them.

20. In apparatus for straightening pipe, the combination with forming apparatus and cooling apparatus, of apparatus including a travelling conveyor member and a stationary pressure-applying member for conveying pipe from said forming apparatus to said cooling apparatus, said conveyor member and pressure applying member acting to convey and simultaneously straighten said pipe.

21. The invention as set forth in claim 20, 

